Let’s go back to August 2011, that’s when our story really all began…

Two little nuggets off to Philadelphia for the first time on their own. Both from very close knit families; it was going to be an adjustment for everyone. David had just graduated from Don Bosco Prep and me from IHA, funny enough we had never crossed paths in high school. David was friendly with my boyfriend at the time, as they had been in the same homeroom class all four years. He asked David to keep an eye on me when we left, to be sure I acclimated well.

As luck would have it, we ran into each other during our first day of orientation at St. Joseph’s University (The Hawk Will Never Die!). We exchanged numbers and agreed to meet up with friends later in the week. David texted me that night and asked if my roommates and I wanted to come over to his and his roommates’ suite to all get to know each other. I agreed…and the rest is history!

No, we’re just kidding!! David will tell you this is when he fell in love with me, though! I, in true “Kate” fashion, was late to the party.

David graduated with a biology degree and I with a psychology degree in 2015. We both moved back home to New Jersey and would keep in touch with intermittent texting and through social media. Then, in 2017 David went off to PA school in New Hampshire. I had been working at a nursing home deciding whether I wanted to go to medical school or physician assistant school. PA school it was! I began taking the science pre-requisites I hadn’t completed in undergrad and earning my experiential hours. I decided to reach out to my good friend for advice and recommendations during the application process. He was wonderful and always answered the myriad of questions he was presented with.

David was being credentialed to start his first job out of school in neurosurgery and I was getting ready to start my first semester of PA school, just in time for the world to come to a screeching halt. David had to work at a pop-up Covid facility at the Meadowlands while his credentialing was stalled and I had to start PA school behind a computer screen in my parents’ basement. Neither of which were ideal situations. David took each day in stride and they saved who they could. I cried every day. We wear stress differently.

I had been leaning on David a lot more for support and encouragement before my first round of finals. David came over to my parents’ house to help me study before the exams. To David’s surprise (and to mine!), my parents, brother, and aunts were all there! It was a family affair. The two of us stayed inside, though, and went through all the big topics that professors like to test on and what information was important to pick out. I made it to the next semester, which meant I was moving to Poughkeepsie, NY in the fall. Again, we remained friends, despite the distance and would get together on breaks. Both of our parents would insist there was something between us, but neither would admit it. David even earned himself a secret nickname!

Now, June 2021, 10 years of friendship gone by. I was up at school, but coming home for the weekend, so David asked if I wanted to get brunch. I always want to get brunch. But, then David became more serious, he asked me if it would be a date or just two friends catching up. We agreed to give it a try. It was a date. The day before we were supposed to go, I woke up with a red, scratchy eye. I had pink eye. Naturally. We were both looking forward to seeing each other, though, so we decided not to cancel. We went to Park West Tavern in Ridgewood and really enjoyed each other.

A couple of weeks later, with no sign of pink eye, David drove up to Poughkeepsie and we went to see a comedy show. It was this date that I realized that something was different; something seemed special. The butterflies didn’t just make me nauseous, they made me excited for what could possibly be ahead! David reminded me it was about time; it had only been ten years! And now, a decade in, no recurrent episodes of pink eye, the rest is history…

Things to Do coming soon!